Put on Brighter Clothes

"Rouse yourself, rouse yourself! Stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath....Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion! Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city...Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, O captive Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter Zion!" Isaiah 51:17; 52:1-2

This is only a small part of a compelling sermon first preached to a people scattered all over the place after the Lord brought devastation and destruction to Israel. Having experienced captivity for some time I imagine the mourning clothing of sack cloth and ashes alongside the chains of their tormentors being a daily reality fixated in their minds. Perhaps they are so inclined to accept this way of living that they "fall asleep" thinking that no hope exists for them, that there is no brighter days ahead.

To hear a message like this is jolting! There is hope? There are beautiful garments for us? There is something more for us than chains and old clothes?

As this Christmas Break Exercise continues we may need a little jolting of ourselves, a little "Hey...get up! Rouse yourself! Shake off the dust! Take off those chains! Put on some brighter clothes!" This sermon reminds us to put on our Jesus-type clothes each day. It is a choice we must make today! We choose to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Colossians 3:12). These clothes compel us forward through the day to interact with those around us.

Knowing we need to put on each one, which piece of clothing do you need to put on most today? Wake up and put it on! Stand up in the clothing that the Lord provides us!

God's Power

Well, I wish that I'd had more time to write posts about the project while I was there. The last post was one that I had written while in Kiev but didn't post. The time went by so fast that I hardly had time to process what was going on.

Since being back however, I've had more time to think. Looking at this year's project, I think that I saw God's power at work more clearly than I had in the past.

At one level, I am amazed at my energy level. It was as if God gave me what I needed to do his work for the day. I was able to stay focused, be attentive to what the readers were saying, and look for ways to connect to the conversation. I think I got a rare glimpse into Paul's world as he expresses in Colossians 1:28-29:

"We proclaim him [Christ], admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me."

I notice the repetition of "everyone" and "all." He teaches everyone to present everyone perfect. He does it with all wisdom. Everyone...all. Same word. Its as if the people whom God has chosen are sent to those who are sustained by his energy. Its like you are being carried along doing the things that God has called you to do with the resources that God has given to you. Amazing isn't it?

[Now, I must admit that my trip was a mere glimpse into Paul's world. My energy hasn't been the same even though I have been a little more diligent since being back. Paul certainly found God's sustenance through a lifetime of service to the Gentiles (as Paul affirms just before the text mentioned above).]

There is another place where I saw God's power too! In the lives of our readers God's power was there. The power of God to open a person's heart to a stranger amazes me. That's exactly what he did. We were only in Kiev for two weeks (and that includes traveling days!). Yet, our connection with many of them was deep. Certainly spending a whole hour having a conversation with someone one-on-one had something to do with that. How many times do we do that with people here!? But, God used this opportunity to make his power known. All praise goes to him!

God's power truly does sustain us! It has been a blessing to experience it firsthand. My prayer is that you put yourself in a situation where God's power can shine and sustain you. Let me know how he works too!

Husbandry

It really is important to understand my wife's needs. As I have been getting ready to do a wedding this coming Friday, I am reminded that it is not always about other people doing the things that I say. The message I bring is for me too. Imagine that!

I need to clothe myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. I need to look for opportunities to forgive my wife without waiting for her to do it first. This makes for a great message for others at times, but how am I doing?

Last night was a good reminder for me to continue to pump energy into my marriage. Help me, Lord, as I learn to be a better husband.

Worship Time

I do find it fascinating the approach to worship that says it happens between the opening prayer and the closing prayer (or benediction). Anything between those two things is considered a part of worship while anything outside those lines is not.

I had this conversation recently with one of our elders (who came in behalf of most of the other elders). The presenting issue was that I showed a video during "worship services" on Sunday night last week that had instrumental music in it. I had stepped over (or confused) the line of having instruments in worship, which is something that we do not permit. I don't want to hash out the issue as much as I want to talk about what is considered worship. During my conversation, I found out that the video would have been fine if we had had the closing prayer immediately before showing it.

This speaks volumes as to when we think worship happens and what definition we have of worship. It seems a little legalistic if you ask me. "Here is the line that gives us peace. Say this prayer, then its okay to do anything because it is not technically 'in' worship." Two scripture were given to me as a proof of this line drawing phenomenon: Col 3:16 and Eph 5:19. I do want to consider these briefly and in order.

The Colossians text reads, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." The admonition is definitely toward singing in our hearts, but it says nothing about instrumental music; thus, for most in our heritage, we cannot use instruments. When I look at the text however, the only command I see is that the word of Christ must dwell in our hearts as we teach, admonish, and sing. It doesn't really command no instruments.

Let's say we decide, for argument's sake, that we are not going to have instruments, something I am an advocate for by the way. We might say this is how we let the word of Christ dwell in our hearts. The context of this passage demands a broader understanding of worship than we typically give it, however. The context of this passage is one of regular, everyday life. We are being (see 3:12ff) compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient, forgiving, loving, and peaceful as God's people living in the world. The verse right after it (3:17) even says, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Reading on we find must talk about household admonitions. Why do we use this text as just a comment on our times of worship on Sundays? It demands a broader application that many in our heritage seem to claim. Are all the psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs I sing at any time only a capella? If this is where I want to go, it seems like I need to be consitent in applying it to my life by not singing with instruments ever. This is somewhere that I will not go, so that is why I don't use this text as an explicative of why we sing a capella.

The Ephesians text reads and typically applied in a manner much like the Colossians, "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." The only command is found in the previous verse (Eph 5:18b): "be filled with the spirit." All the ideas in our particular text hinge on our being filled with the spirit...as we speak, as we sing and make psalms, and as we give thanks.

Again, I see no command to refrain from instrumental music. If I did, I would need to apply it to my whole life rather than a couple of hours of my week. All of my time should be geared toward being filled with the spirit. I see freedom to allow our hands to express themselves as an overflow of the heart in playing an instrument. Indeed, most times that I experience the moving of the spirit in my life happens to be as I am playing or listening to instrumental music.

In summary, I do not like the complete separation of worship from every other aspect of my life. I do not see this in the pages of scripture at all. My whole life (not just part of it) needs to be geared toward pleasing God. He demands my whole heart, 24-7. Let us encourage one another as long as it is called today toward love and good deeds (in all parts of our life). Amen!